international climate policy

Delivering on the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals will be hugely challenging, but new WRI analysis finds there is much greater alignment between these two agendas than we may realize.

The United States and China formally joined the Paris Agreement in a ceremony in Hangzhou, China ahead of the G20 Summit. The move brings the world firmly within range of hitting the threshold needed for the climate agreement to "enter into force"—which could happen as soon as this month.

The Paris Climate Agreement will only take effect once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions formally join it. Recent action from Cameroon, Brazil, Iran and Ukraine make it more likely that will happen this year.

Prime Minister Modi and President Obama have put themselves in the vanguard of global climate policy, not because of any immediate political pressure, but because both leaders see action on this front as crucial for future generations’ health and prosperity.

The United States and India have either created or ramped up 15 bilateral programs on climate change and clean energy over the past two years. The state visit next week is an opportunity to further advance the countries' collaboration in three areas.

Climate negotiations have shifted from what the Paris Agreement is to how it will be accomplished. The Bonn climate talks were the first opportunity to develop the rules and tools needed to truly put the Agreement into action.

The climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany concluded today. This is the only formal round of international negotiations between the Paris climate summit last December and the forthcoming climate summit in Marrakech, Morocco (COP22) in November.

Following is a statement from David Waskow, International Climate Director, World Resources Institute: